ALBANY – A common refrain all summer with the Giants has been the glaring lack of depth at virtually every position. It’s no cause for alarm only as long as there is no need to dig into that suspect depth. All it took yesterday was for one starter to hobble into the cafeteria on crutches to reveal just how thin the roster actually is.

In fact, all it takes is this realization: Starting at free safety in the pre-season opener, none other than Lyle West.

Now that’s a lack of depth.

There was no way the Giants could escape their intra-squad scrimmage unscathed, and they did not, as Shaun Williams is out with a sprained big toe on his left foot. He could be out a week or two, or longer. There’s no break or fracture, but there is a painful sprain, and the healing process is different for each player.

That means Williams, the 1998 first-round draft pick who after two seasons finally was elevated to the role of starter, takes a seat. That, in turn, means West, whose claim to fame as a rookie last year was getting burned in the final pre-season game, followed by his four-game suspension for violating the NFL’s policy on banned substances, is next in line. There is no cause for major concern just yet, but if Williams’ aching toe continues to linger with the regular-season approaching, figure the Giants will commence with an all-out search to import another safety.

“I don’t see any serious thing, anything prolonged,” Williams said.

He hopes not. A lineman fell onto the back of Williams left foot on the very first play of last Saturday’s scrimmage, jamming his toe into the grass, and although Williams remained on the field, he knew something was not right. It’s not broken, but as a precaution his foot was placed in a black boot and he’s getting around on two crutches. There will be no running, no work on a stationary bicycle, not much of anything for Williams until his toe heals. It is the sort of injury that is painful and potentially troublesome. The kind of injury that can lead to other complications if he returns too soon.

However, the quick reduction in swelling is a positive sign, but Williams was still gloomy yesterday. He spent time in his first two seasons coming back from hamstring pulls, and now that Percy Ellsworth is out of his way at free safety, this was an especially exciting time for Williams, who was labeled the best safety in the draft two years ago coming out of UCLA.

“Yesterday it was pretty sore, today it feels a lot better,” Williams said. “I’m hoping the sooner the better. It really bothers me. I finally got a chance to start and next thing you know, first play of the scrimmage this happens. I want to be practicing, I worked hard in the off-season to stay in great shape, and when you can’t really run it’s hard to stay in shape. Any time you get hurt it’s a setback. I wanted to be in there getting as many reps as possible.”

The Giants knew all along that after Sam Garnes and Williams, there wasn’t much as far as reliable and proven safeties. West last year was a sixth-round pick out of San Jose State and undersized at 6-foot. He allowed the game-winning touchdown in the final pre-season game, a 28-24 loss to the Ravens, when his coverage was too late to prevent Brandon Stokley from hauling in a 37-yard pass from Stoney Case as time expired.

During the season, West was suspended by the league when a banned anabolic steroid was found in an anti-inflammatory medication he was taking for a pulled hamstring. It was an embarrassing situation for West, who admitted he should have more thoroughly checked out the medication.

“They know what kind of guy I am and that I would never go down that [drugs] road,” West said. “I told [the Giants] what happened and that was it.”

He has virtually no experience with the regular defense and West playing any significant time would be a major gamble for the Giants. Meanwhile, Williams hopes to get back as soon as possible. The Giants share that sentiment.